Television

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Lock'em Up: Lowering crime rates could impact global warming

As campaign 2016 rolls out here’s an idea for the “tough-on-crime”
cabal--letting people out of prison will have a negative impact on global
warning. Oh, but there is a problem--many of those
who are “tough-on-crime” don’t believe in global warning.

According to the New York Times, a recent
study published in The Journal of Industrial Ecology, researchers at
the Center for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey in England
estimated the annual carbon footprint of crime in England and Wales, and found
that reducing crime could actually cause society’s overall carbon footprint of
society to increase.

The findings illustrated the rebound effect, which describes
how reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases in one area can lead to more
emissions in the aggregate, because of direct or indirect effects. It’s
something that policy makers have often been encouraged to consider when they
set out to reduce emissions.

Crime is one example where a rebound in carbon emissions
could be an issue, according to this study. While there is an energy cost to
operating prisons, the study notes, inmates generally consume less than an
average citizen in the country, so fewer prisoners might mean higher overall
energy consumption.

Additionally, the money saved from reducing crime would go
into the government’s budget and people’s pockets. All that money could be
spent in other ways — infrastructure, buildings or goods — that may require
more energy to produce or operate, possibly adding more greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere.

Although there is a lot of uncertainty in calculating the
rebound effect, the researchers tried to quantify the consequences of reducing
domestic burglary by about 5 percent, and determined a rebound effect of 2
percent. That may sound small, but it would mean a growth in society’s overall
carbon footprint equivalent to about 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which is
similar to the annual emissions of about 2,250 households in the Britain.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.